NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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The Nature of Jesus’ Obedience: A Narrative-Critical Reading of Matthew’s Gethsemane (26:36-46)
No full textThis study, using the Gethsemane passage as central, investigates Matthew’s portrayal of the textual Jesus’ obedience amidst various claims implicitly clamouring for supremacy. There are the conflicts with the religious authorities of Israel who label him as an impostor, his disciples who find his standard unattainable, and even God whose seeming inactivity throughout Jesus’ suffering may bring into question Jesus’ genuineness. In setting the stagefor the investigation, this thesis first reviews briefly the interpretations of some key scholars on Gethsemane (Matt 26:36-46)(chapter two).Using narrative criticism,this key text is analysed with attention on the episodic characterisation of Jesus, especially the decipherable obedience features(chapter three). Jesus is shown to be authentically submissive to God’s will. Intratextual links between Gethsemane and the rest of the Gospel revealthat the Gethsemane obedience is consonant with the Matthean obedience theology(chapter four). The conviction that Gethsemane is a synopsis of the whole Gospel proves that Jesus’ portrayed obedience therein epitomises his lifelong obedience to God. Associations between Gethsemane and a few exemplary characters from the Hebrew Scripture demonstrate that Jesus’ obedience is rooted in the Old Testament tradition and even advances that of all genuinely obedient people of God since he perfectly fulfils all the law and prophets(chapter five). This study, therefore, fits into the debate regarding Matthean obediencetheology and specifically the nature of obedience exhibited by Jesus.Jesus’ obedience was evaluated according to Herbert McCabeOP’s definitionof obedience. On its own,Jesus’ submissionto God’s will, as apparently implied in the Gethsemane text,would not pass McCabe’s test of perfect obedience. His notion of obedience would score Jesus’ obedience as perfect ultimately and only because the obedience resulted from a sharing of ‘one mind’ between God (superior) and Jesus (subject)geared toward anobjective goal—in this casethe world’s salvation. Accordingly, we conclude that Jesus’ lifelong obedience is the model and salvific obedience which every disciple is called to appropriate
#regrettingmotherhood in germany: Feminism, motherhood, and culture
No full textIn April 2015, Orna Donath’sSignsarticle“Regretting Motherhood: ASociopolitical Analysis”provoked a storm of controversy in mainstreamand social media in Germany that continues to resonate. The #regretting-motherhood debate—so called because of tweets using the English-languagehashtag to highlight their contribution—illustrates the intense public interestin motherhood in contemporary Germany. Our article analyzes the debatewithin the German context and uses the controversy to raise broader ques-tions about the impact of maternal myths on women’s experiences and fertil-ity decisions
Reinterpreting the health in all policies obligation in Article 168 TFEU: the first step towards making enforcement a realistic prospect
No full textThe EU Treaties oblige the EU institutions to take health objectives and concerns into account in all policy fields. Nevertheless, this obligation is only marginally honoured in many EU policy areas at best. One problem is the lack of enforcement options to pursue further implementation. This paper examines the obligation to ‘mainstream’ health in Article 168 TFEU and demonstrates the difficulties in enforcing the obligation in more detail. It then offers a new, deeper interpretation of the contents of the mainstreaming obligation and discusses how this definition may be used to facilitate better enforcement in the future
Using data to design and monitor sentencing guidelines: The case of Ireland
No full textThere is a growing trend across common law jurisdictions towards more structured sentencing processes. Many have implemented some form of sentencing guidelines in recent years; others are designing or considering introducing them. This article focuses on Ireland, a jurisdiction that has recently legislated for sentencing guidelines but does not have sufficient sentencing data available to inform key decisions on guideline design and implementation. It highlights the importance of sentencing data for guideline development and outlines how the lack of data on current sentencing trends and outcomes means that there is no frame of reference for current practice against which to design guidelines, nor assess their likely impact or gauge their effectiveness once introduced. The article examines the types of data that are needed to develop and monitor sentencing guidelines and sets out how they might be collected and analysed in Ireland. The Irish example serves as a case study for other jurisdictions with respect to the importance of sentencing data and the need to ensure that such data are available prior to the introduction of sentencing guideline
Geometric Heuristics for Transfer Learning in Decision Trees
No full textMotivated by a network fault detection problem, we study how
recall can be boosted in a decision tree classifier, without sacrificing
too much precision. This problem is relevant and novel in the context of transfer learning (TL), in which few target domain training
samples are available. We define a geometric optimization problem
for boosting the recall of a decision tree classifier, and show it is
NP-hard. To solve it efficiently, we propose several near-linear time
heuristics, and experimentally validate these heuristics in the context of TL. Our evaluation includes 7 public datasets, as well as 6
network fault datasets, and we compare our heuristics with several
existing TL algorithms, as well as exact mixed integer linear programming (MILP) solutions to our optimization problem. We find
that our heuristics boost recall in a manner similar to optimal MILP
solutions, yet require several orders of magnitude less compute
time. In many cases th
Responses to the COVID‐19 crisis in Ireland: From feminized to feminist
No full textIn this study, we conceptualize feminist engagement with neo-liberalism, austerity, and crisis management and analyze potential to advance a feminist “recovery” political agenda. Feminist discursive analysis of crisis and a focus on narrative enables analysis of continuity and change in feminist responses to the pandemic and exposes the nature of opportunities and constraints for mobilization on gender equality. A case study of responses to the pandemic in Ireland and empirical data in areas of care, income support and domestic violence is presented to reflect on gendered analysis of austerity and feminist responses to same, on gendered effects of COVID-19 and feminist responses to pandemic crisis management. The case studies allow us to interrogate feminist's use of crisis to advance social transformation. We discuss whether and how feminist actors in Ireland built on learning from previous crises to generate opportunity to advance feminist demands, to break continuities by reframing old problems and to mobilize in relation to COVID-19. We find some continuity over time, but also greater awareness of connective tissues of multiple crises, making overall strategies of feminist actors and organizations less reactive, more innovative, inclusive and independent than the previous crisis with greater potential for social transformation
Exploring Perspectives of School Refusal in Second-Level Education in Ireland
No full textSchool refusal can be a major source of chaos and distress for young people and their families, impeding young people’s social, academic and psychological development. International research has highlighted the short- and long-term consequences of school refusal to include economic hardship, unemployment, over reliance on welfare services, as well as mental health difficulties in later life (Havik et al., 2015; Kearney, 2008; Thambirajah et al., 2008).
This research presents a unique conceptual framework drawing on the concepts of the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) (Johnstone & Boyle, 2018) and education theorists (Biesta, 2006; Freire, 1970) to open the discussion on school refusal and explore it in relation to power imbalances, personal meaning and the purposes of education. The overarching aim of this project is to explore the perspectives and experiences of education professionals, parents and young people in relation to school refusal in second-level schools in Ireland and how their experiences might inform more appropriate responses to school refusal. Employing a mixed method approach, this research includes four sequential studies: a survey to providing information on school refusal in second-level schools in Ireland (N=106), a follow up qualitative study exploring the perspectives of educators (N=17), a qualitative study to explore parents’ experiences, concerns and challenges in school refusal (N=10) and a narrative arts-based approach with young people (N=5).
The findings of the research highlight the extent of emotional and psychological distress that accompanies school refusal. It was apparent that many young people who experience school refusal have prior exposure to developmental trauma, attachment disruption, and adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s). Others experienced distress and disillusionment within the current education system. The influence of family socioeconomic status, unequal access to support services and resources, pressures for academic achievement, conflictual relationships within the school and between home and school emerged from the findings. This research project provides grounds for challenging the wider issues of social injustice and educational policy, the need to reconnect with the goals and purpose of education, and the importance of trauma- and attachment-informed approaches to schools
BeatWalk: Personalized Music-Based Gait Rehabilitation in Parkinson’s Disease
No full textTaking regular walks when living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) has beneficial effects on
movement and quality of life. Yet, patients usually show reduced physical activity compared
to healthy older adults. Using auditory stimulation such as music can facilitate walking but
patients vary significantly in their response. An individualized approach adapting musical tempo
to patients’ gait cadence, and capitalizing on these individual differences, is likely to provide
a rewarding experience, increasing motivation for walk-in PD. We aim to evaluate the
observance, safety, tolerance, usability, and enjoyment of a new smartphone application. It
was coupled with wearable sensors (BeatWalk) and delivered individualized musical stimulation
for gait auto-rehabilitation at home. Forty-five patients with PD underwent a 1-month, outdoor,
uncontrolled gait rehabilitation program, using the BeatWalk application (30 min/day, 5 days/
week). The music tempo was being aligned in real-time to patients’ gait cadence in a way
that could foster an increase up to +10% of their spontaneous cadence. Open-label evaluation
was based on BeatWalk use measures, questionnaires, and a six-minute walk test. Patients
used the application 78.8% (±28.2) of the prescribed duration and enjoyed it throughout the
program. The application was considered “easy to use” by 75% of the patients. Pain, fatigue,
and falls did not increase. Fear of falling decreased and quality of life improved. After the
program, patients improved their gait parameters in the six-minute walk test without musical
stimulation. BeatWalk is an easy to use, safe, and enjoyable musical application for individualized
gait rehabilitation in PD. It increases “walk for exercise” duration thanks to high observance
Multi-functional view of technology governance in tax administration: A case study
No full textDespite digital technology gaining importance in recent years, a
holistic view on its governance in public and tax administration
is yet to be clearly articulated, a shortcoming made more acute by
the centrality of the government sector. Guided by a case study
approach considering three key perspectives in a European tax
administration – 1.) Customer Service Leader; 2.) Information and
Technology Leader; and 3.) Operations Leader. This study surfaces
the elements central to the effective governance of disruptive digital
technologies
Political Expression in Web Defacements
No full textThe idea of influencing public opinion through digital media is ubiquitous, yet little is
known about its origins. This thesis investigates the use of political communication
through hacked websites. It is at the same time an exploratory description of the
research tools and methods needed to find and retrieve such material.
The dissertation frames political expression through hacking as interference with the
strata of digital communication and positions it within a larger history of on- and offline
activist practices. The methodological section describes the difficulties of finding and
accessing defaced pages, which are almost exclusively held by community-based
archives. Based on already available and added metadata, the dataset of defacements is
surveyed and topics, periods of high activity and prominent defacer groups are
identified. Modes of expression are tracked to give insight to possible defacer
motivation. This survey then serves as the basis for the following analysis of two
emblematic clusters of activity: The Kashmir conflict and the 9/11 attacks. In a close
reading of selected defacements, communication strategies and general types of
defacements are described, thereby showcasing the diversity of defacer standpoints and
strategies which runs counter to the common uniform depiction of hackers. The notion
of defacements as forced injection of material into a public sphere is discussed
throughout these close readings and leads to the final analytical section discussing the
relation between defacements and WikiLeaks.
After reflecting on the themes that unite this dissertation, the conclusion reflects on the
preservation and availability of source material on defaced pages. The author expresses
the hope that both the research methodology as well as the applied analyses will
promote the understanding of web defacements as a resource for inquests into online
political expression